Hello Saturday Long Runners!
The weather tomorrow looks toasty, with lows in the upper 70s and high humidity. As I mentioned earlier this week,ÂÂÂ SLR will be starting at 6 AM due to the heat. I'd also like to take this opportunity to remind about the warning signs of heat related illnesses in advance of this weekend:
Heat Exhaustion Signs: Dizziness, Thirst, Heavy Perspiration, Cold or Clammy Skin, Nausea or Vomiting, Weakness/Exhaustion, Cramping, Headache.
- Solutions: stop physical activity, move to a cooler area if possible, remove clothing, spray with water when it's an option, and drink water and electrolytes.
- Next Steps: seek medical attention if symptoms do not improve within an hour
Heat Stroke Signs: Confusion, Dizziness, Perspiration, No Perspiration but Hot to the Touch, Loss of Consciousness
- Solutions: stop physical activity and CALL 911 (heat stroke is deadly!)
- Next Steps:submerge in cool water up to shoulders if possible to do so safely, or move to a cooler place
- What Not to Do: DO NOT give someone suffering from heatstroke anything to drink. They can vomit, pass out, and aspirate.
- HEAT STROKE IS DEADLY If your fellow runner is disoriented, please call 911 immediately (and shoot me or one of the coahes an e-mail or text letting us know what has happened).
With all that being said: take it easy tomorrow, it's going to be hot and safety is important! Run in a group and keep talking to eachother, when someone shuts up or starts babbling incoherently, it's time to assess the situation. Talking is a very useful and easy indicator. Now let's get into it:
The Route: The good news is we'll have plenty of shade on tomorrow's route! Ross Drive (strava, gps, pdf) is a fan favorite and a fabulous introduction to Rock Creek Park if you haven't run there before. Beach Drive is still closed to vehicle traffic (and will be for the foreseeable future!), however Ross Drive has reopened to cars so stay alert when running there (though I've never seen more than a few vehicles on the road at any given time). If you haven't run in Rock Creek before, it can get confusing and I'll do my best to explain some of the weird turns and nuances tomorrow morning but in general: Keep Beach Drive to your Right on the way out and Left on the way back and when in doubt follow signs for Pierce Mill!
Want Something Shorter? The easiest way to get in less mileage is to do an out and back in Rock Creek Park. If you want to switch it up a bit more, on the way back run through Georgetown along the waterfront instead of along the trail.
Need a Longer Route? The Ross-Ridge-Beach Loop we'll be doing is a little over three miles and makes adding on a multiple of 3 easy! As an added bonus, you'll also pass the mid-run drinks station on each loop for some extra hydration. Which leads us into...
Thirsty? Huzzah! The wonderful Alan Dixon will be supplying mid-run drinks and in honor of the duathlon he'll be doing on Sunday, we'll pass him twice! He'll be at the parking lot where the Western Ridge Trail meets Beach Drive. Thank you so much also to Gregory Smith for picking up pre and post run drinks. especially on short notice! Other than these two planned stops, there is very little opportunity for water (though there are fountains at Pierce Mill, it's also where mid-run drinks are which cancels it out a bit). Please bring water tomorrow!I don't know how many different times I can mention the heat, but water and electrolytes are essential to combating heat-related illnessess. Sweat isn't just water, it's also salt and electolytes and on hot days it's easy to drink a lot of water, but easy to forget electolytes! Bringing nuun/liquidIV/salt tablets tomorrow is a smart idea!
Need a Bathroom? Pierce Mill has multiple bathroom options availabe at miles 5 and 9. Other than that there aren't many options, so plan accordingly!
The next club race is the Steve Thompson 8K on Sunday August 6th at Belle Haven Park in Alexandria! This is a wonderful out and back on the Mount Vernon Trail! If you can't run, please volunteer!
Stay safe tomorrow everyone and see you all bright and early!
Anna
